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Presentation Genre Game

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In this game, students practice presenting key aspects of their presentation, using different public speaking genres.

Activity title: Presentation Genre Game

Author: Hayden Kantor (Note: This activity is an adaptation of activities by Ethan Plaut, Raechel Lee, and others)

Course: PWR 2

Activity length: 20–30 minutes per round.

Schedule (time in quarter): Week 4, between the RP rehearsal and RP final presentation. Instructors can also return to this activity later in the quarter as a prelude to the final presentation.

Activity goals

  • Practice presenting in front of an audience
  • Present with varied tone and energy, avoiding monotony
  • Practice recognizing and adopting existing genre conventions
  • Effectively communicate the research gap, exhibit, and/or thesis to the audience in a concise and impactful fashion
  • Build class community by taking risks and having fun

Activity details

  1. Come to class prepared with the index cards with different presentation genres:
    • college tour
    • Oscar speech
    • Shark Tank pitch
    • high school graduation speech
    • CS lecture
    • nature documentary
    • public service announcement
    • Presidential address
    • politician's campaign speech
    • talking to aliens
    • talking to kindergarteners
    • wedding toast
    • flight attendant announcement
    • self-help seminar
    • action movie trailer
    • art museum tour guide
    • manager at a start-up holding a team meeting
    • promoting a club at the activity fair
    • true crime podcast/murder mystery
    • TV product advertisement (late night or QVC or infomercial)
    • game show host
    • halftime pep talk in the locker room
    • celebrity red carpet interview
    • sports TV announcer
    • weather report
    • motivational speaker
    • RA dorm meeting
    • late night talk show host
    • romantic prom/marriage proposal
    • theater kid
    • science fair/science olympiad
    • guided meditation app
    • AI chatbot for e-commerce website
    • telephone automated system (e.g., press 1)
    • red carpet fashion correspondent
    • parade commentator (hint: describe the floats)
    • reality TV host (hint: describe the contestants)
    • TV cooking show 
    • sermon
    • youth group leader

2. Introduce the concept of genre:

  • A category, type, or class of composition
  • Accepted conventions in terms of form and style
  • These expectations and attributes are durable but also can change over time
  • Particular rhetorical situations call for particular generic responses
  • Class brainstorms different types of film genres (and subgenres)
  • Emphasize the genre of the pitch/proposal as distinct from the essay/presentation and crucial to funding research in all fields.

3. Writing prompt [3 minutes]:

  • Review your RP draft and pitch script. Be prepared to share the following in a mini-presentation to the class. You can use notes:
    • Explanation of the research gap
    • Description & justification for a star exhibit

4.  Round 1:

  • Hand a card to each student.
  • Writing prompt – round 1 [3 minutes]:
    • Using the rhetorical style of the genre listed on the card, present your research gap.
    • What do “they” say? What is covered in the scholarly literature?
    • What is the focus of your case study?
  • Each student stands at the podium, with no more than one minute to present. The students in the class will try to guess the genre.

5.  Round 2:

  • Hand a card to each student.
  • Writing prompt – round 2 [3 minutes]:
  • Using the rhetorical style of the genre listed on the card, present your star exhibit.
  • Describe what you are analyzing.
  • Justify why you have selected it.
  • Optional: give a glimpse of the rhetoric.
  • Each student stands at the podium, with no more than one minute to present. The students in the class will try to guess the genre.

Additional notes: Round 1 & 2 can also be held on separate class days (e.g., 4.1 and 4.2) to spread out the speaking activities. Instructors can also return to this activity later in the quarter to help students communicate their thesis as a prelude to the final presentation.